The verdict in three sentences
For an Edinburgh management consultancy, a redesign is justified once the site no longer reflects current service lines, the insights archive becomes hard to search, or enquiry forms collect more data than they need. In 2026, typical Edinburgh agency quotes for this kind of redesign sit around £12,000 to £35,000 (ballpark), while Kolonell's fixed grid is £2,300 (Starter), £3,900 (Growth) or £6,900 (Premium), delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. The real risk lies in migration: insights, author pages and service pages that already rank need a 301 redirect map and six weeks of Google Search Console checks.
Which signals say a redesign is due?
A consultancy based in the New Town, Haymarket or Leith sells credibility before it sells consulting days. The signals below come up in most audits of consulting websites.
| Signal | Practical consequence | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Service lines reorganised (public sector, energy, financial services) but navigation unchanged since 2020 | Decision makers cannot find the right expertise within 2 clicks | High |
| Archive of 60 to 150 insights with no filters or authors | Content that earns organic visits generates no enquiries | High |
| Outdated partner bios, departed consultants still listed | Loss of trust during a tender | Medium |
| Case studies published with no record of client consent | Contractual and reputational risk | High |
| Form with 9 to 12 mandatory fields | Low completion, excessive data under UK GDPR | Medium |
| Analytics cookies set before consent | Non-compliance with PECR cookie rules | High |
| WCAG 2.2 AA failures (contrast, keyboard, untagged PDFs) | Some readers excluded, exposure under the Equality Act 2010 | Medium |
If three high-priority signals apply, a visual refresh will not be enough: the structure and the migration both need rework.
What does a redesign cost in Edinburgh in 2026?
The ranges below are 2026 ballpark figures based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages, for a firm of 5 to 30 consultants.
| Option | Indicative budget | Typical timeline | Usually included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance designer and developer | £3,000 to £9,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Design and build, copy supplied by the firm |
| Small Edinburgh studio | £10,000 to £22,000 | 8 to 14 weeks | Workshops, design, CMS, basic SEO migration |
| Mid-size agency | £22,000 to £50,000 | 12 to 20 weeks | Content strategy, brand refresh, integrations |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | 3 to 4 weeks | Focused services site, native copywriting, core redirects |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Insights hub, author pages, full 301 map |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | The multilingual tier (languages set in the quote), advanced structure |
Every tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Details are on Kolonell's international offer. On quote: client portal, data room, CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce), event registration, gated content with marketing automation, SEO work beyond the migration and custom applications.
What is a realistic timeline, phase by phase?
| Phase | Kolonell | Typical local agency | Watch point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and URL inventory | 2 to 3 days | 1 to 2 weeks | Export every indexed URL from Search Console |
| Structure and wireframes | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 weeks | Group services by client problem |
| Copy and content migration | 4 to 6 days | 3 to 6 weeks | Partner sign-off, usually the bottleneck |
| Design and build | 6 to 8 days | 4 to 8 weeks | Author pages and insight filters |
| Compliance review | 2 to 3 days | 1 to 2 weeks | Case studies, client mentions, quoted figures |
| Go-live and monitoring | 1 day, then 6 weeks of checks | 1 day, then monitoring | 404 errors, deindexed pages |
The clock starts when content is ready. In a consultancy, partner reviews almost always stretch the project, not the development.
Which risks matter, and how do you contain them?
- Loss of organic traffic: full URL inventory, one-to-one 301 map for every insight and service page, weekly error checks in Search Console for 6 weeks.
- Deleted author pages: a departed consultant's page redirects to the team page or to their insights, never to a 404.
- Case studies without consent: a consent log per case study; without written approval, anonymise or remove. No client, result or ranking is ever invented.
- Over-collecting forms: name, work email, organisation, topic, nothing more; privacy notice and retention periods aligned with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with ICO guidance in mind.
- Cookies and marketing email: prior consent under PECR, verified opt-in for the newsletter.
- Email outage: lower the DNS TTL 48 hours before cutover and leave MX records untouched.
- Accessibility: target WCAG 2.2 AA, including downloadable PDF reports.
This is not legal advice. For Scottish public sector procurement, accessibility and reference requirements vary by buyer: check them tender by tender.
Which questions should you ask any provider?
- Who produces the URL inventory and the 301 map, and in what format?
- How many rounds of partner review are planned?
- How are insights migrated with their authors and dates?
- What is included, and what stays on quote (CRM, portal)?
- Who monitors Search Console for the 6 weeks after go-live?
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When is an Edinburgh agency the better choice?
To be fair: if you are fully repositioning the brand with in-person workshops, if a public buyer requires a locally present supplier, or if you need a complex CRM integration and a monthly retainer with the same team, an Edinburgh agency may suit you better. For a firm that wants a clear redesign, written and migrated cleanly within a month, the fixed-grid model is more predictable. For reference, Kolonell built the site of TR Signing Group (trsigninggroup.com), a signing services company in New Jersey: a professional services site where clear service pages and trust signals matter as much as they do for a consultancy.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Fiona, managing partner of Haldane Moray Advisory, a fictional 9-consultant firm in the New Town. The current site has 140 URLs: 85 insights, 12 author pages, 18 service and sector pages, the rest miscellaneous.
- Tier chosen: Growth, £3,900; HubSpot integration on quote.
- Internal review: 3 partners x 4 hours = 12 hours.
- Local quote received: £18,000, delivery in 14 weeks.
- Hosting and maintenance over 33 months: £120 x 33 = £3,960 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote).
- 3-year cost: £3,900 + £3,960 = £7,860, versus £18,000 + £3,960 = £21,960 with the same assumption.
The £14,100 gap comfortably covers a local photographer (third-party cost) for partner portraits.
FAQ
How long does a consultancy website redesign take?
Allow 3 to 4 weeks with Kolonell once content is ready, against 8 to 20 weeks with a local agency. Partner review often adds 1 to 2 weeks upstream.
Do all old insights need redirects?
Yes, every indexed URL should point to its equivalent through a 301 redirect. For an archive of 85 articles, the inventory takes about 1 day and protects visits built up over several years.
Can we publish our clients' names?
Only with their approval, ideally in writing and kept in a log. Without consent, an anonymised case study still works if it describes the problem and the method, with no invented figures.
Which tier suits a 10-consultant firm?
Growth at £3,900 usually fits once there are more than 30 insights and author pages. Starter at £2,300 is enough for a 5 to 8 page services site.
Is CRM integration included?
No, it stays on quote because the cost depends on the tool and your lead qualification rules. Delivered forms send enquiries by email from day one. To get a figure, use the free quote page.
Let's scope your project. A consultancy site redesign with insights migration and a 301 map, from £2,300 to £6,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
